South Sudan Drops Plan For US$10,000 Work Permit Fee

South Sudan has been embroiled in civil war since 2013, when President Salva Kiir fired his deputy Riek Machar. Getty Images

South Sudan's government has dropped plans to charge foreign workers a US$10,000 (£8,000) work permit fee, the Finance Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau announced, the Reuters news agency reports. 

The 100-fold hike in the fee for foreign professionals announced early last month was criticized on grounds that that it would create a huge expense for aid organizations.

"The Ministry of Finance acknowledges these significant issues... and steps are being taken to formulate the best way forward," Mr Dhieu Dau told a news conference. 

"The implementing agencies will continue with old rates charged," he said, adding that parliament was expected to repeal the legislation that approved the fee hike. 

The previous rate was US$100 per foreign worker. 

South Sudan has been embroiled in civil war since 2013, when President Salva Kiir fired his deputy Riek Machar, sparking a conflict that has increasingly split the country along ethnic lines. 

In February, the United Nations declared that parts of the country were experiencing famine.

Nearly half the population, or about 5.5 million people, is expected to lack a reliable supply of food by July. The fighting has uprooted more than 3 million people.